Karafuto Prefecture

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Karafuto 樺太
Former subdivision of the Empire of Japan
1905–1945
Flag of Karafuto during the Takushoku Expo Emblem
Green: Karafuto within Japan in 1942 Light green: Other constituents of the Empire of Japan
Anthem
Karafuto tōka
Capital	Ōtomari (1907–1908) Toyohara (1908–1945)
Area
• December 1941	36,090.3 km2 (13,934.5 sq mi)
Population
• December 1941	406,557
Government
Emperor of Japan
• 1905–1912	Emperor Meiji
• 1912–1926	Emperor Taishō
• 1926–1945	Emperor Shōwa
History
• Treaty of Portsmouth	5 September 1905
• Administered by Karafuto Civil Administration	28 August 1905–31 March 1907
• Karafuto Prefecture established	1 April 1907
• Incorporated into inner land	1 April 1943
• Soviet invasion and annexation	11–25 August 1945
• Karafuto Prefecture De jure abolished	1 June 1949
Preceded by Succeeded by Russian Empire Soviet Union Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Oblast

Karafuto Prefecture, derived from the Japanese Karafuto Chō (樺太廳/樺太庁,からふとちょう), was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin, referred to by Japan as Karafuto. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Portsmouth.

Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan's External Land (Gaichi), until it was incorporated into an Inner Land (Naichi) of the Japanese metropole in 1943. Ōtomari (Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 and Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945.

In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following the invasion of South Sakhalin by the Soviet Union. Karafuto Prefecture was de facto annexed to the Soviet Union, although it continued to exist de jure under Japanese law until it was formally abolished as a legal entity by Japan in June 1949.